# Some interesting news for TV cordcutters



## imaref

I looked heavily into getting an antenna to receive the DC local TV stations over the air but because of our location I wouldn't pick up many stations in Lexington Park. I gave up.

Reading tech news yesterday I read about a non-profit service called Locast.org (currently available on Roku) that re-broadcasts live local TV station signals for those that are too far away from broadcast stations to be picked up via an antenna (like the majority of us in St. Mary's).

Locast is Locast.org, not Locast.com, and its status as a non-profit means it is legally allowed to rebroadcast for free, as it provides a public service of extending signal reach (legal according to U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, according to the article).

I signed up for an account on their site (even though it's not available for DC stations--yet). They seems to be working their way down the East Coast from Boston, and Baltimore will be the next that they add. I would anticipate the DC stations to be added next after Baltimore.

If this holds up legally, you would basically be able to use your Roku and (when the DC stations are added) use the Locast.org app on Roku to stream the local stations at no charge. It would be nice to cut out the middleman, the rebroadcast fees, etc.

Definitely something for cordcutters to keep an eye on... if you want to read more about it, their website is https://www.locast.org/


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## Chris0nllyn

I read about it and will be more interested when they hit the DC/Baltimore market.


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## mitzi

imaref said:


> I looked heavily into getting an antenna to receive the DC local TV stations over the air but because of our location I wouldn't pick up many stations in Lexington Park. I gave up.
> 
> Reading tech news yesterday I read about a non-profit service called Locast.org (currently available on Roku) that re-broadcasts live local TV station signals for those that are too far away from broadcast stations to be picked up via an antenna (like the majority of us in St. Mary's).
> 
> Locast is Locast.org, not Locast.com, and its status as a non-profit means it is legally allowed to rebroadcast for free, as it provides a public service of extending signal reach (legal according to U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, according to the article).
> 
> I signed up for an account on their site (even though it's not available for DC stations--yet). They seems to be working their way down the East Coast from Boston, and Baltimore will be the next that they add. I would anticipate the DC stations to be added next after Baltimore.
> 
> If this holds up legally, you would basically be able to use your Roku and (when the DC stations are added) use the Locast.org app on Roku to stream the local stations at no charge. It would be nice to cut out the middleman, the rebroadcast fees, etc.
> 
> Definitely something for cordcutters to keep an eye on... if you want to read more about it, their website is https://www.locast.org/



This would be great. I like the Firestick but I really miss the local news. You can stream them live on your browser but most of the time it doesn't work right.


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## Yooper

Great post. Thanks for the info/heads-up.

--- End of line (MCP)


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## hitchicken

imaref said:


> I looked heavily into getting an antenna to receive the DC local TV stations over the air but because of our location I wouldn't pick up many stations in Lexington Park. I gave up.
> 
> Like life, if you don't try, nothing happens.  I re-post an old post to encourage you.  I live in Lexington Park.  I kept my antenna in the attic and it worked.  If you just want DC stations, you don't need a rotor. DC is about 50 miles away.  Easy reach for a moderate antenna.  Yes, I have trees blocking my antenna.  Yes, mine is 12'... hidden in the backyard.  Yes, you might have to send your antenna and preamp back if it fails.  So here is my old post...   I hope it helps you make the right and economical solution.
> 
> Look at OTA. I get 45 channels on my worst day to 73 on my better days. Many are HD. (It ain't your grandfather's analog OTA any more.) I get all the local news from Washington, Baltimore & Salsbury (2,4,5,7,9,11,13,16,20,45...). I get all the Redskins, Ravens games (except when exclusively offered by ESPN and NFL networks). It's free after a 1 time cost for 'fringe' antenna, rotor, booster, powered splitter and coax (about $350)... as many TVs as you want playing different channels. No internet needed. The downside is it's ugly (ghetto appearance - I keep mine in the back yard), and it's susceptible to air traffic.
> 
> I have 4 old Rokus, 3 smart TVs and stream Netflix and Amazon Prime along with all those 'free' streamer channels available on the Fire, Roku or virtually any wifi streamer hardware. I use home internal cable rather than wifi whenever possible.
> 
> Be aware. Sling, Netflix, Fire, Roku and all streaming channels all still require a decent high speed internet connection and that's what ABB provides. They got a lock. You FIOS people are lucky (but the price is still high). Otherwise, U outa luck.


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## imaref

I think "free on Roku" would be better for me both cost-wise and better than fooling around with an ugly antenna/equipment so I'm willing to wait at this point. Glad your antenna is working well.


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## hitchicken

:thumbsup:


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## awpitt

imaref said:


> I looked heavily into getting an antenna to receive the DC local TV stations over the air but because of our location I wouldn't pick up many stations in Lexington Park. I gave up.
> 
> Reading tech news yesterday I read about a non-profit service called Locast.org (currently available on Roku) that re-broadcasts live local TV station signals for those that are too far away from broadcast stations to be picked up via an antenna (like the majority of us in St. Mary's).
> 
> Locast is Locast.org, not Locast.com, and its status as a non-profit means it is legally allowed to rebroadcast for free, as it provides a public service of extending signal reach (legal according to U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, according to the article).
> 
> I signed up for an account on their site (even though it's not available for DC stations--yet). They seems to be working their way down the East Coast from Boston, and Baltimore will be the next that they add. I would anticipate the DC stations to be added next after Baltimore.
> 
> If this holds up legally, you would basically be able to use your Roku and (when the DC stations are added) use the Locast.org app on Roku to stream the local stations at no charge. It would be nice to cut out the middleman, the rebroadcast fees, etc.
> 
> Definitely something for cordcutters to keep an eye on... if you want to read more about it, their website is https://www.locast.org/



Thanks for the info.

I've been trying YouTude TV and it already has all of the DC metro stations.  NBC4, FOX5 WTTG, ABC WJLA 7, and WUSA9 CBS.


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## 1stGenSMIB

This is all interesting stuff!
At my old house, due to lots of trees to the south I could never do any better than SD with DirecTV (I had a gap due to the road for 99-103 I think, but all the other sats were blanketed.) I also had a Hi-VHF (7-13) and UHF (14-69) antennas. I had them offset about 10 degrees, with the Hi-VHF pointing in between Balt/DC, and the UHF aimed at D.C (on a rotor if needed.) When it worked, it worked great...I was even looking into something like Windows Media Center (this was 10 years ago) to record local content for viewing (my wife rarely watches the 6PM news at 6PM). I was in California (Myrtle Point area) close to Patuxent Beach Road, approx. 150 ft above sea level, and the antenna another 50 feet off the ground. Some days I got nothing and somedays I had 40+ channels. I really just wanted live sports (football, NASCAR) broadcast on the local networks on the weekends, but I gave up too.

My new-to-me place in Calvert has a clear view to the south so we are enjoying discounted HD DirecTV with the Genie 2. It is easy and my wife likes it. It has some quirks but works acceptably for what we want. When our 'discount period' runs out, not sure what I'll do. What do you cord cutters do to record broadcast TV, i.e., This is Us, Chicago PD/Med/Fire? Is that stuff available on-demand or thru IOT's as soon as it is broadcast?

I have a fire stick and a Chrome Cast. I haven't even bothered to plug either in since we moved. I guess I also don't sit in front of the TV for long enough to really care right now..I have too many house projects..so I put on a show on multiple TVs and sorta pay attention while I am back and forth from the shop to project, etc.


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## Chris0nllyn

My Sling has an optional DVR feature where you can add shows. 

It also has an OnDemand feature where shows pop up after a week of coming on TV.


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## PeoplesElbow

sastanley said:


> This is all interesting stuff!
> At my old house, due to lots of trees to the south I could never do any better than SD with DirecTV (I had a gap due to the road for 99-103 I think, but all the other sats were blanketed.) I also had a Hi-VHF (7-13) and UHF (14-69) antennas. I had them offset about 10 degrees, with the Hi-VHF pointing in between Balt/DC, and the UHF aimed at D.C (on a rotor if needed.) When it worked, it worked great...I was even looking into something like Windows Media Center (this was 10 years ago) to record local content for viewing (my wife rarely watches the 6PM news at 6PM). I was in California (Myrtle Point area) close to Patuxent Beach Road, approx. 150 ft above sea level, and the antenna another 50 feet off the ground. Some days I got nothing and somedays I had 40+ channels. I really just wanted live sports (football, NASCAR) broadcast on the local networks on the weekends, but I gave up too.
> 
> My new-to-me place in Calvert has a clear view to the south so we are enjoying discounted HD DirecTV with the Genie 2. It is easy and my wife likes it. It has some quirks but works acceptably for what we want. When our 'discount period' runs out, not sure what I'll do. What do you cord cutters do to record broadcast TV, i.e., This is Us, Chicago PD/Med/Fire? Is that stuff available on-demand or thru IOT's as soon as it is broadcast?
> 
> I have a fire stick and a Chrome Cast. I haven't even bothered to plug either in since we moved. I guess I also don't sit in front of the TV for long enough to really care right now..I have too many house projects..so I put on a show on multiple TVs and sorta pay attention while I am back and forth from the shop to project, etc.



A lot of the apps have on demand.  For example ABCs app on the ROKU has on demand shows for everything over a week old totally free.  With on demand stuff a DVR is unnecessary IMHO.


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## BernieP

PeoplesElbow said:


> A lot of the apps have on demand.  For example ABCs app on the ROKU has on demand shows for everything over a week old totally free.  With on demand stuff a DVR is unnecessary IMHO.



There are a number of "features" with all the apps.   Some require and account and some networks don't offer all shows live or even on on demand.  (they limit the shows)
It also requires a solid, high speed internet service.  You aren't going to stream on DSL or a dial up.   What I'm seeing with Atlantic Broadband (aka Metrocrap) is that depending on where you are, you might not be able to get a solid high speed connection.
The last challenge it that of the technically challenged.   First they have to swith the "source" on even a smart tv.  Then they have to navigate to the appropriate application and possibly log in.  Then select the show.
Not anything like channel surfing on tv and they will gnaw your ears off with complaints.

Right now, DTV (AT&T) can go play ith a FiretrUCK themselves.  Horrible service.  Don't even try to use their on-demand unless you have high speed internet as it's no longer sent over the dish, but rather those rentals come via the internet.

Lack of competition is why we (at least St. Mary's) get such random and crappy service.
It all depends on where you live.  If you are in an older section, your wiring is vintage, dating back to the orginal cable franchise.
If you live off of 235 and your developer wired your community for fiber, you can get FiOS.
St. Mary's  Cablevision will happily charge you for the highest band width service you want.  Unfortuantely it doesn't mean you will actually get it.
Oh, and if you aren't in a development, you may have to pay upwards of 30,000 to have cable run to your property and then to your house.


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## Potomac

Yep. Nothing at my house. We use our cell phones as hot spots.  Had a Verizon Hotspot for several years.  For a short time it was pretty good, although we could never do any streaming. Then it really became undependable, so we cancelled it because it was a waste of money


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## David

I wonder if it would be legal to put up a repeater that rebroadcasts Over The Air TV signals in order to extend the reach. My understanding is that OTA HDTV looks better than DirecTV or Cable because it is not compressed.


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## itsbob

imaref said:


> I looked heavily into getting an antenna to receive the DC local TV stations over the air but because of our location I wouldn't pick up many stations in Lexington Park. I gave up.
> 
> Reading tech news yesterday I read about a non-profit service called Locast.org (currently available on Roku) that re-broadcasts live local TV station signals for those that are too far away from broadcast stations to be picked up via an antenna (like the majority of us in St. Mary's).
> 
> Locast is Locast.org, not Locast.com, and its status as a non-profit means it is legally allowed to rebroadcast for free, as it provides a public service of extending signal reach (legal according to U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, according to the article).
> 
> I signed up for an account on their site (even though it's not available for DC stations--yet). They seems to be working their way down the East Coast from Boston, and Baltimore will be the next that they add. I would anticipate the DC stations to be added next after Baltimore.
> 
> If this holds up legally, you would basically be able to use your Roku and (when the DC stations are added) use the Locast.org app on Roku to stream the local stations at no charge. It would be nice to cut out the middleman, the rebroadcast fees, etc.
> 
> Definitely something for cordcutters to keep an eye on... if you want to read more about it, their website is https://www.locast.org/


We have an HD antenna on our camper.. and in Dameron we get about 20 channels with just the antenna.


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## PeoplesElbow

BernieP said:


> There are a number of "features" with all the apps.   Some require and account and some networks don't offer all shows live or even on on demand.  (they limit the shows)
> It also requires a solid, high speed internet service.  You aren't going to stream on DSL or a dial up.



You can stream with DSL,  I did it for two years.  Only reason I switched to cable is due to unreliable service,  had to reset my router atleast once per hour and verizon kept blaming my router.


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## GWguy

David said:


> My understanding is that OTA HDTV looks better than DirecTV or Cable because it is not compressed.


It does, but not all stations transmit at 1080.  Of the 10 or so stations I get from the Eastern Shore, only one is transmitted in 1080i.  The rest are 720 or lower.


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## imaref

The free Washington DC Channels are up and running on Locast.org - I tried watching them on computer and also through Roku. Very good, especially if you are a cordcutter and aren't getting local channels. It's free! Picture is decent.

Channels available:

WRC (NBC 4)

WTTG (FOX 5)

WJLA (ABC 7)

WUSA (CBS 9)

WFDC (Univision)

WDCA (my20)

WETA (PBS)

WZDC (Telemundo)

WDCW (the CW)

WPXW (ION Television)

Here's what you need to do, whether you want to watch on computer or on Roku:

1. Go to locast.org and sign up for a free account (make sure your browser allows the website to access your location or you will have difficulty; I used the Chrome browser after having difficulty with Firefox and Edge).

2. When you want to watch on computer, just login at locast.org and click on the program you want to watch on the TV Guide (you must temporarily disable any adblockers--they do nag for a donation at the start of watching but it's quick).

3. Go to the Roku store and search for locast.org - add the channel, then go to the channel. You login with the same login info as the locast.org website. Once logged in you will see a mini TV guide with the channels--just highlight and click on the one that you want to watch.

This will be nice for those of you that cut the cord and aren't getting local channels but want to watch DC sports events, etc. Post about your experiences!


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## Popster

Can you record the local channels for viewing later?


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## imaref

No. Live broadcasts only.


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## GURPS

Popster said:


> Can you record the local channels for viewing later?




you could use something like Fraps or OBS to record the desktop


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## my-thyme

I've been using Sling for a few months, for $25 a month, lots cheaper than cable, and get to watch Channel 4 local news - YEAH!

Just signed on to this Locast, works great. I'll probably keep my Sling for a bit longer, I like HGTV, but I'm gonna put this on Mama's smart TV, she'll love getting the local news again.


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## imaref

Hope your Mom likes it. I found it pretty easy to use on Roku. The picture quality looks like cable TV--not quite the quality of Directv, but definitely watchable.


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## Popster

We used to record tv on vhs.  Is anything like that available now?


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## PeoplesElbow

Popster said:


> We used to record tv on vhs.  Is anything like that available now?



I use to record cable on a DVD recorder up until about 5-6 years ago,  they started embedding copy protection into the cable signal and the DVD recorder I had would not allow recording.  I wouldn't be surprised if the cable broadcasts did not allow recording.

Otherwise,  hotdamn about the OTA stuff,  Sling gave me NBC and FOX, ABC gave me most of their shows free with their app.  

I was missing CBS!


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## willie

imaref said:


> The free Washington DC Channels are up and running on Locast.org - I tried watching them on computer and also through Roku. Very good, especially if you are a cordcutter and aren't getting local channels. It's free! Picture is decent.
> 
> Channels available:
> 
> WRC (NBC 4)
> 
> WTTG (FOX 5)
> 
> WJLA (ABC 7)
> 
> WUSA (CBS 9)
> 
> WFDC (Univision)
> 
> WDCA (my20)
> 
> WETA (PBS)
> 
> WZDC (Telemundo)
> 
> WDCW (the CW)
> 
> WPXW (ION Television)
> 
> Here's what you need to do, whether you want to watch on computer or on Roku:
> 
> 1. Go to locast.org and sign up for a free account (make sure your browser allows the website to access your location or you will have difficulty; I used the Chrome browser after having difficulty with Firefox and Edge).
> 
> 2. When you want to watch on computer, just login at locast.org and click on the program you want to watch on the TV Guide (you must temporarily disable any adblockers--they do nag for a donation at the start of watching but it's quick).
> 
> 3. Go to the Roku store and search for locast.org - add the channel, then go to the channel. You login with the same login info as the locast.org website. Once logged in you will see a mini TV guide with the channels--just highlight and click on the one that you want to watch.
> 
> This will be nice for those of you that cut the cord and aren't getting local channels but want to watch DC sports events, etc. Post about your experiences!


It Works! Thank you.


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## GWguy

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who does this directly on their Internet connected TV.  I can see where viewing on my laptop would get to be inconvenient.  I could run an HDMI cable from the laptop to the TV, but it would be great if it could be done on the TV itself.


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## willie

GWguy said:


> I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who does this directly on their Internet connected TV.  I can see where viewing on my laptop would get to be inconvenient.  I could run an HDMI cable from the laptop to the TV, but it would be great if it could be done on the TV itself.
> [/QUO


Roku's are cheap and a one time purchase.


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## SamSpade

my-thyme said:


> I've been using Sling for a few months, for $25 a month, lots cheaper than cable, and get to watch Channel 4 local news - YEAH!
> 
> Just signed on to this Locast, works great. I'll probably keep my Sling for a bit longer, I like HGTV, but I'm gonna put this on Mama's smart TV, she'll love getting the local news again.



Just added locast. So what's the deal with "donations" if it's intended to be free?


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## Kinnakeet

Does any of this other stuff get the discovery channel,military channel history channel..etc..etc oh and the playboy channels my brother wants to know this


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## BernieP

There are a couple of problems with cutting the cord.
You can end up spending just as much if not more on just subscriptions. 
It seems nothing is free.   A lot of the apps for specific networks require you to log in with either a cable or Dirctv account.
Or of course purchase the service.  Even at $5 a month, it adds up when you do it one channel at a time.
The networks have caught on to the digital subscription thing.   

The other problem is a decent high speed network connection.  One that's fast enough to stream and has bandwidth of internet browsing and email.
Reliable as well.
If the signal to noise ration is low, your effective data transfer rate is going to be low, lower than what is advertised.
Not to menton the cost of the broadband service.


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## 1stGenSMIB

BP, it is a balancing act.
 I have DSL here that is advertised at 6Mb on my router, but it is only $33/month. Is that fast enough for a household full of constant streamers? Definitely not, but the wife and I are the only ones left, and I don't think the cats can pick up the remote or use a smart phone. Comcast would be $75+. Add in all the subscriptions you talk about and it indeed may not be any cheaper than my current slow internet and DirecTV. 
I appreciate all the discussion here, there are many options.


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## GWguy

Read some of the reviews on Google Play Store.  Seems that as time passes, the number of interrupts for donations increases, to the point where it won't play unless you contribute, and disables the account.


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## SamSpade

BernieP said:


> There are a couple of problems with cutting the cord.
> You can end up spending just as much if not more on just subscriptions.



The idea of course is to end up paying for what you want, rather than for a ton of stuff you never use.
Generally, I don't watch sports unless it's NFL, and then mostly Ravens or Redskins. So I don't need two dozen sports channels.
If I can reliably access old shows - then I don't need DVR.
Since it's streaming - all I need is a means to stream at every TV - so I don't need a cable box or DVR.
Right now I am paying around 250, and we already need more bandwidth, because the kids stream EVERYTHING.

Biggest hurdle is - attitude. Have to persuade everyone to do things differently.


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## imaref

If I read the law correctly, the reason that locast.org can rebroadcast the over-the-air channels without fear of being shut down and sued is that they are a NONPROFIT. As a nonprofit, they can solicit donations for operating costs, but not to make a profit. There was a popular service a few years back called Aereo which did the same thing that locast.org is doing, BUT they were charging and making a profit. They got sued by the networks and got shut down: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aereo


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## PeoplesElbow

BernieP said:


> There are a couple of problems with cutting the cord.
> You can end up spending just as much if not more on just subscriptions.
> It seems nothing is free.   A lot of the apps for specific networks require you to log in with either a cable or Dirctv account.
> Or of course purchase the service.  Even at $5 a month, it adds up when you do it one channel at a time.
> The networks have caught on to the digital subscription thing.
> 
> The other problem is a decent high speed network connection.  One that's fast enough to stream and has bandwidth of internet browsing and email.
> Reliable as well.
> If the signal to noise ration is low, your effective data transfer rate is going to be low, lower than what is advertised.
> Not to menton the cost of the broadband service.


It takes just about every subscription to do that.  Most people have Netflix anyway and fast internet.  

I pay $95/month less than I did with cable,  it would take a hell of a lot of subscriptions to make up that $95/month.


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## Popster

So if I have roku or sling and get locast can I watch channel 4 news whenever I want?


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## my-thyme

I have Sling ($25 a month) and an Amazon Fire Stick (one time fee) and watch channel 4 whenever I want. Gotta have internet to run the fire stick.


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## Kinnakeet

What else can you watch do these roku sling things have all the channels that directv has I could care less about the local news channels.


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## awpitt

GWguy said:


> I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who does this directly on their Internet connected TV.  I can see where viewing on my laptop would get to be inconvenient.  I could run an HDMI cable from the laptop to the TV, but it would be great if it could be done on the TV itself.




Google Chrome Cast solves this problem.  It plugs into the HDMI port on your TV. Then you can use you phone, tablet, laptop, desktop PC, etc. to cast to it and it is on you TV.


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## my-thyme

https://www.sling.com/

I have had Sling blue since December, loving it.


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## imaref

Popster said:


> So if I have roku or sling and get locast can I watch channel 4 news whenever I want?



You can only watch it "live", so if you want to watch the news on that channel, you need to watch it when it's on (no recording or on demand).


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## Goldenhawk

imaref said:


> You can only watch it "live", so if you want to watch the news on that channel, you need to watch it when it's on (no recording or on demand).


Are there any reasonable means to do BOTH Sling/Roku/Locast/streaming _AND_ DVR-like recording?

I really HATE paying the fees for DirecTV, but we get SO much value out of the DVR features - no time wasted watching commercials, and watching exactly what we want whenever we want it. Really hard to conceive of giving up those features, but the money... ???


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## Ken King

Goldenhawk said:


> Are there any reasonable means to do BOTH Sling/Roku/Locast/streaming _AND_ DVR-like recording?
> 
> I really HATE paying the fees for DirecTV, but we get SO much value out of the DVR features - no time wasted watching commercials, and watching exactly what we want whenever we want it. Really hard to conceive of giving up those features, but the money... ???


Maybe something like this - https://www.techhive.com/article/3173175/best-dvr-for-cord-cutters.html


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## Goldenhawk

Ken King said:


> Maybe something like this - https://www.techhive.com/article/3173175/best-dvr-for-cord-cutters.html


Nope. That's for "OTA" (over-the-air broadcast signals) only. Has nothing to do with streaming.

We watch very few shows on the broadcast channels (NBC, CBS, etc.) - mainly The Voice and Dancing with the Stars - and besides we have effectively zero antenna signal at my house.


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## BernieP

sastanley said:


> BP, it is a balancing act.
> I have DSL here that is advertised at 6Mb on my router, but it is only $33/month. Is that fast enough for a household full of constant streamers? Definitely not, but the wife and I are the only ones left, and I don't think the cats can pick up the remote or use a smart phone. Comcast would be $75+. Add in all the subscriptions you talk about and it indeed may not be any cheaper than my current slow internet and DirecTV.
> I appreciate all the discussion here, there are many options.


Well the fact you have Comcast says you are not in St. Mary's.  LOL
I'm not sure what DSL is advertised as, but I don't think it's more than 2Mb.  
I think I've measured it at 1.2Mb download and less than half that for upload.  More concerned with download.  1.2Mb doesn't work, times out over WiFi.   DTV pretty much switched all their on demand stuff over to internet (image that, AT&T creating a demand for broadband).
Can't order a movie or watch anything on demand.   Use the old cell phone to access Netflix and then cast to tv.
Smart TV had the same problem as the DTV station.


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## BernieP

itsbob said:


> We have an HD antenna on our camper.. and in Dameron we get about 20 channels with just the antenna.


interesting.

I understand there is a hump or ridgeline that bi-sects the county.   It apparently is an issue for RF reception.


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## 1stGenSMIB

BernieP said:


> Well the fact you have Comcast says you are not in St. Mary's.  LOL
> I'm not sure what DSL is advertised as, but I don't think it's more than 2Mb.
> I think I've measured it at 1.2Mb download and less than half that for upload.  More concerned with download.  1.2Mb doesn't work, times out over WiFi.   DTV pretty much switched all their on demand stuff over to internet (image that, AT&T creating a demand for broadband).
> Can't order a movie or watch anything on demand.   Use the old cell phone to access Netflix and then cast to tv.
> Smart TV had the same problem as the DTV station.


No..I am no longer in St. Mary's County...moved to lower Calvert County from the Myrtle Point area in October 2019. I am getting 5.8 Mb advertised on my DSL router in my current location..I guess I need to stream a Netflix movie and see if it buffers at all..in S.M. Co., we were about 2.5Mb on the DSL and while tolerable, we usually had 1 or 2 buffering events during a Netflix movie, and had to make sure to not have any other devices downloading/streaming crap during a movie.


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## 1stGenSMIB

BernieP said:


> interesting.
> 
> I understand there is a hump or ridgeline that bi-sects the county.   It apparently is an issue for RF reception.


tvfool.com has some terrain tools that may show that. I thought I was going to get great OTA reception in M.P. being ~150 above sea level and a 40+' tower but it was spotty at best. All I know is when my wife wants to watch Doug Kammerererererererererer, it better not say "No signal".


----------



## BernieP

sastanley said:


> tvfool.com has some tools terrain that may show that. I thought I was going to get great OTA reception in M.P. being 160 above sea level and a 40+' tower but it was spotty at best. All I know is when my wife wants to watch Doug Kammerererererererererer, it better not say "No signal".


Runway 2W6 @St Mary's County Regional Airport is ‎141.8 ft  ASL.  Not sure it's the highest point, but it's the only way I could get an elevation.


----------



## 1stGenSMIB

That seems about right. I think I guesstimated mine off a NOAA chart of Pax River (hence approx 150-160). I used to be a couple houses behind the Pres. Church there on Rt 4. It might be a little lower than 150.


----------



## Goldenhawk

Here's an example map of signal strength for a Washington DC TV station.


			TV Fool
		

It's extremely location-dependent. Bottom line, anyone in the southern half of the county, and not on the northern side of any small ridges, is going to get really lousy signal, even with a large rooftop antenna.

But it's kind of irrelevant these days, since most of what we watch isn't on the broadcast networks anyway.


----------



## Chris0nllyn

Goldenhawk said:


> Are there any reasonable means to do BOTH Sling/Roku/Locast/streaming _AND_ DVR-like recording?
> 
> I really HATE paying the fees for DirecTV, but we get SO much value out of the DVR features - no time wasted watching commercials, and watching exactly what we want whenever we want it. Really hard to conceive of giving up those features, but the money... ???



YouTube TV has a free DVR with their streaming service. Sling has a DVR service for an additional $5/month.

Roku is just the device housing all your streaming services.



sastanley said:


> No..I am no longer in St. Mary's County...moved to lower Calvert County from the Myrtle Point area in October 2019. I am getting 5.8 Mb advertised on my DSL router in my current location..I guess I need to stream a Netflix movie and see if it buffers at all..in S.M. Co., we were about 2.5Mb on the DSL and while tolerable, we usually had 1 or 2 buffering events during a Netflix movie, and had to make sure to not have any other devices downloading/streaming crap during a movie.



Netflix says they need 5Mbps for HD (not 4K) video. With DSL it may buffer or automatically lower the stream quality every once and awhile if the speed drops.


----------



## imaref

cordcuttersnews.com has a pretty good chart up that shows many of the streaming services, and which ones have which channels. It is current as of today (March 14, 2019): https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/dir...vue-vs-sling-tv-vs-fubotv-updated-march-2019/ 
I recommend clicking on the PDF in the article as it is much easier to read.


----------



## BernieP

sastanley said:


> That seems about right. I think I guesstimated mine off a NOAA chart of Pax River (hence approx 150-160). I used to be a couple houses behind the Pres. Church there on Rt 4. It might be a little lower than 150.


I thought the runway was 36ft ASL at PAX.   Might need to check that, could have been 36Meters (ASL), but that seems high.   Pax is flat, that's the reason contact was lost with the UAV flying up the Potomac side.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

JEFF69Z28 said:


> What else can you watch do these roku sling things have all the channels that directv has I could care less about the local news channels.


Roku is the hardware and sling is a service you can get on the hardware.  There are many different streaming services you can use on the Roku that accompolish the same thing,  there is slingtv, youtube tv, playstation vue, hulu live, direct tv now, and I am sure I am missing something.  These are pay services, but all much cheaper than cable,  to check their channel offerings go to their websites.   There are also free services available on the Roku,  for example the ABC one is totally free if you don't mind waiting a week to watch a show that just aired.  The CW app is completely free too.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

BernieP said:


> Well the fact you have Comcast says you are not in St. Mary's.  LOL
> I'm not sure what DSL is advertised as, but I don't think it's more than 2Mb.
> I think I've measured it at 1.2Mb download and less than half that for upload.  More concerned with download.  1.2Mb doesn't work, times out over WiFi.   DTV pretty much switched all their on demand stuff over to internet (image that, AT&T creating a demand for broadband).
> Can't order a movie or watch anything on demand.   Use the old cell phone to access Netflix and then cast to tv.
> Smart TV had the same problem as the DTV station.


My verizon DSL was 10Mb,  too bad it was so flaky.


----------



## Goldenhawk

BernieP said:


> I thought the runway was 36ft ASL at PAX.   Might need to check that, could have been 36Meters (ASL), but that seems high.   Pax is flat, that's the reason contact was lost with the UAV flying up the Potomac side.








						AirNav: KNHK - Patuxent River Naval Air Station (Trapnell Field) Airport
					

Complete aeronautical information about Patuxent River Naval Air Station (Trapnell Field) Airport (Patuxent River, MD, USA), including location, runways, taxiways, navaids, radio frequencies, FBO information, fuel prices, sunrise and sunset times, aerial photo, airport diagram.



					www.airnav.com
				



The runway isn't quite flat - it's dipped a bit in the middle - but the survey elevation (probably of the primary intersection) says 39 feet. That used to be painted in huge letters on the side of the old control tower towards the runway.


----------



## BernieP

PeoplesElbow said:


> My verizon DSL was 10Mb,  too bad it was so flaky.


you sure that wasn't 1.0?   I don't think I've seen anything approaching that bandwidth.
Though apparently distance to the CO is crucial, if you are withing something like 3000 ft you can get decent speeds.
I would guess I'm probably at least a mile from the CO, buried in what use to be the backend of Wildewood.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

BernieP said:


> you sure that wasn't 1.0?   I don't think I've seen anything approaching that bandwidth.
> Though apparently distance to the CO is crucial, if you are withing something like 3000 ft you can get decent speeds.
> I would guess I'm probably at least a mile from the CO, buried in what use to be the backend of Wildewood.


I am sure,  when I first got it in 2003 it was 3.0Mb and it was bumped up intermittently until I cancelled it in 2018.  I routinely checked it using speedtest and fast.com. 

My moms from Frontier Communication is 3.0 (and only $15/month) and we can stream a 720P movie from it just fine.


----------



## 1stGenSMIB

I know this is not a reliable height survey, but this was what I used...looks like my memory is not doing so well.....80-ish feet ASL near my old residence behind the church.


			https://charts.noaa.gov/PDFs/12264.pdf
		

I had one of these https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=91xg, and one of these https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=ya1713, probably 45 feet off the ground (15' above a two story colonial.)


----------



## BernieP

PeoplesElbow said:


> I am sure,  when I first got it in 2003 it was 3.0Mb and it was bumped up intermittently until I cancelled it in 2018.  I routinely checked it using speedtest and fast.com.
> 
> My moms from Frontier Communication is 3.0 (and only $15/month) and we can stream a 720P movie from it just fine.


I'm getting ripped off by Verizon.  Internet and phone is over $90 a month.   The internet portion is the largest chunk.
Use to get the triple play discount (with Directv).  But then AT&T sucked up DTV and that's changed a lot of things.
I'm also been informed that any hope of fiber is gone, Verizon and AT&T are not laying fiber, they are focusing instead on 5G cell service and wireless.
Lower cost for them to implement and quicker to get online.


----------



## 1stGenSMIB

Got the same problem BernieP, especially since I moved and 're-set' my DirecTV account. I was recently told at the VZW store here in SOMD that they (Verizon) are working on de-coupling the verizon one-bill bundle too. My DSL internet is only $35/month (well..really almost $60 if you count the requirement for a landline) but my verizon one-bill is at least $175/month. I heard several years ago that Verizon didn't give a crap about land comms anymore..their focus is all wireless..and that is obviously a smart choice. Except for those of us with DSL, and older folks like my 80 year old step-father who spends a lot of time at home and lives in the woods with spotty cell until he is outside, who has a landline anymore?


----------



## hitchicken

$135 experiment…

As any of you long time SOMD forum members probably know, I’ve been a long time proponent for the free OTA (see my previous posts on the matter to understand the many channels and positive reasons why, please).  My last effort on the matter is to suggest a $135 experiment that might succeed or fail.  (This probably is not for residential neighborhoods.)

Fringe antenna $120 (free shipping):  

*https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=hd8200xl*

RG6 cable $15 for 40 feet:

*https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=sscbls*

Now for challenges to test your ingenuity.  The fringe antenna is over 12’long.  Clumsy.  Get it up temporarily as high as you can, cable attached.  Be careful of power lines.  Use rope over a tree branch, the top of a chimney, high flat structure, roof, whatever you can find…  Attach 1 TV.  Point the antenna to DC (use a compass and Google maps) from your location.  Scan the TV; get acquirable channels.  Point antenna to Baltimore.  Repeat channel scan.  

If you get marginal success, you might want to improve your odds with a pre-amp; $60.

*https://www.solidsignal.com/search.asp?q=tv%20preamp*

What do you get?  

If you succeed, you get a one time expense of $135 to $195.  This is verses a $1000 or more a year in unending yearly expense… destined to rise.
If you fail,you can try and return the items for your money back… good luck with that.  Or maybe you could loan them to a friend to allow them to try the experiment.  Sup to you…

Good luck.  Don’t fall.


----------



## 1stGenSMIB

I bet the guy I sold my house to would sell you those items cheap. Fringe UHF, fringe Hi-VHF and a Channel Master pre-amp that has separate inputs for VHF and UHF. I left them on the roof...oh and a rotor. I ran the rotor cable outside down the back of the house too and tucked it inside the siding so I only had to drill a small hole in the sheathing in the back of the garage.


----------



## GWguy

hitchicken said:


> $135 experiment…
> 
> As any of you long time SOMD forum members probably know, I’ve been a long time proponent for the free OTA (see my previous posts on the matter to understand the many channels and positive reasons why, please).  My last effort on the matter is to suggest a $135 experiment that might succeed or fail.  (This probably is not for residential neighborhoods.)
> 
> Fringe antenna $120 (free shipping):
> 
> *https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=hd8200xl*
> 
> RG6 cable $15 for 40 feet:
> 
> *https://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=sscbls*
> 
> Now for challenges to test your ingenuity.  The fringe antenna is over 12’long.  Clumsy.  Get it up temporarily as high as you can, cable attached.  Be careful of power lines.  Use rope over a tree branch, the top of a chimney, high flat structure, roof, whatever you can find…  Attach 1 TV.  Point the antenna to DC (use a compass and Google maps) from your location.  Scan the TV; get acquirable channels.  Point antenna to Baltimore.  Repeat channel scan.
> 
> If you get marginal success, you might want to improve your odds with a pre-amp; $60.
> 
> *https://www.solidsignal.com/search.asp?q=tv%20preamp*
> 
> What do you get?
> 
> If you succeed, you get a one time expense of $135 to $195.  This is verses a $1000 or more a year in unending yearly expense… destined to rise.
> If you fail,you can try and return the items for your money back… good luck with that.  Or maybe you could loan them to a friend to allow them to try the experiment.  Sup to you…
> 
> Good luck.  Don’t fall.


I put a $30 RCA antenna on a 5 foot pole on the chimney with a power rotor.  Two-part power amp, one piece at the antenna, the 2nd piece at the TV, 6dB gain (I think...   been many years since I put it in).  I get enough channels to keep me happy, CBS, FOX, ABC, MeTV, CW, ION (which I rarely watch), PBS.  
I've wanted to replace the small antenna with a large fringe, just not on the priority list at the moment.


----------



## GWguy

GWguy said:


> I've wanted to replace the small antenna with a large fringe, just not on the priority list at the moment.


Well, I did it.  Just ordered a Channel Master CM-3020 Deep Fringe, $111 including delivery.  During the winter, signal reception is pretty good, but come this time of year it gets spotty.  About an hour after sunset I can lose the signal completely due to atmospheric skip.

Hoping I can use the existing mount for the new antenna.  Not going to put it on a tall mast, just higher than the roofline should be fine.  Will re-use the existing rotor, in-line amp and cabling.

Looking forward to getting stations ffrom DC/Balt that I don't get now.  My current antenna doesn't get VHF, so I miss out on channels 2-13.


----------



## BernieP

I was in BJ's last night looking for a DSL modem.  Noticed a lot of antennas for sale, particularly the "leaf" ones.
Also noticed tht the range on some of those - 30 miles.   Why in the name of Philo Farnsworth would you see an antenna that had a range of 30 miles (best case) 60 plus miles from the source of the signal?
Oh, and these are designed to be mounted inside, on a window or wall.

BTW, the more I learn about Atlantic Broadband, the more I recall the story related to me by a then member of the cable advisory panel.
Customer and Service should not be used in the same sentence with Atlantic Broadband unless the word Sucks is included.
Witnessed them blaming an issue on the contractor / builder who wired the buildings (apartments).  Only to learn that it was the one of the cable companies that has been rebrnded in St. Mary's county that wired the buildings.   Can you say, substandard and hacked.
Why doesn't your service match your website?  Because two years later we are still Metrocast, haven't really integrated into ABB.
ABB apparently hasn't spent a dime to upgrade or standardize the system in St. Marys county, as none of their predecessors didn't do either.
It's a patchwork of new and old.   Replace only what you had to,  and focus on new builds (developments).
Which explains why the wide variation in data rates.
As for Atlantic Broadband itself, looking at the corporation you quickly learn they suck up tiny (local) cable outlets.   They don't invest in the market, basically they service it.   The advantage (to the customer), is that when there is a surge because of some major issue, ABB can reasign crews to the county to deal with it.   Most often these are the technicians that give you the real scoop on the infastructure.
So be jealous, in PG county they have FiOS, with gigabit speed network and a lower price than the entry level network package from eeither Verizon (DSL) or Atlantic Broadband.


----------



## imaref

I have to begrudgingly give Atlantic Broadband a little credit--they recently replaced the main fiber optic cable from the main road to our neighborhood (Cedar Cove) and it's made a huge difference. I don't know how they pick and choose what infrastructure to replace nor when. We have had a lot of residents complaining for the past six months so maybe it's based on the number of complaints they receive per area? Just a guess...


----------



## BernieP

imaref said:


> I have to begrudgingly give Atlantic Broadband a little credit--they recently replaced the main fiber optic cable from the main road to our neighborhood (Cedar Cove) and it's made a huge difference. I don't know how they pick and choose what infrastructure to replace nor when. We have had a lot of residents complaining for the past six months so maybe it's based on the number of complaints they receive per area? Just a guess...


When did they install fiber?  As far as I know they are still copper coax.   Someone told me that Settlers Rest (behid Lowes) had fiber and I did confirm a dozen or so "luxury" townhouses in Wildewood have fiber.   The townhouses were recently built right on the Parkway and were pre-wired for fiber.
I'm not sure about the apartmanet complex (Settlers Rest), I heard they had fiber service but have no hard evidence to confirm or deny.
Those are the only two residential properties with fiber.   The main fiber trunk is on 235 and is used to serve businesses and schools.


----------



## GWguy

GWguy said:


> Well, I did it.  Just ordered a Channel Master CM-3020 Deep Fringe, $111 including delivery.  During the winter, signal reception is pretty good, but come this time of year it gets spotty.  About an hour after sunset I can lose the signal completely due to atmospheric skip.
> 
> Hoping I can use the existing mount for the new antenna.  Not going to put it on a tall mast, just higher than the roofline should be fine.  Will re-use the existing rotor, in-line amp and cabling.
> 
> Looking forward to getting stations ffrom DC/Balt that I don't get now.  My current antenna doesn't get VHF, so I miss out on channels 2-13.


Well, Step 1 / Phase 1 didn't work out so well.  I got the new antenna, assembled it and stood it up in the backyard.  I didn't expect very much, and that's just what I got.  Not very much.  I was only able to find one major channel.  Yes, fighting a number of things:  Too low to the ground, didn't have the amp in-line, and it is VERY directional.  I chose this one over the deeper fringe model because it wasn't quite as directional but the receive beam is very narrow anyway.

So, the only way to prove this out is to get it on the roof and get it on the rotor with the amp.  Won't have time for the next 2 weeks.


----------



## GWguy

And as a little side bar, I had a piece of PVC pipe for my current antenna mast, thru it up because it was handy.  At some point I got a piece of "real" antenna mast, aluminum.  It killed the signal.  Put the PVC back up, and it work so much better.  Go figure....


----------



## hitchicken

GWguy said:


> And as a little side bar, I had a piece of PVC pipe for my current antenna mast, thru it up because it was handy.  At some point I got a piece of "real" antenna mast, aluminum.  It killed the signal.  Put the PVC back up, and it work so much better.  Go figure....



The mast as well as the parasitic reflectors should be grounded for best signal.  Forgive the suggestion, but I believe part of your antenna system might be 'shorted'; the parasitic grounded elements touching the active elements or mast.  I also am a bit surprised by the low performance you have experienced.  I think I know your approx. location so I am thinking you should see better signals.  It's just a guess.  Could be twin lead/coax converter near the top of the antenna.  Signal belongs in the core and not the shield of the coax.

Just tryin to help.


----------



## GWguy

Thanx.  I'll take the grounding issue with a grain of salt.  As an experienced radio and electronics guy, I always thought a rooftop antenna needed to be grounded.  It does, but not for signal.  It gets grounded for lightning protection.  This was contrary to my beliefs, but even the manufacturer's documentation says that.

Doubt there is any shorting in the new antenna.

Like I said, when I have time I'll put it up the right way and double-check everything.  The cheap little $35 RCA antenna I have now gets 25 channels.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

GWguy said:


> Thanx.  I'll take the grounding issue with a grain of salt.  As an experienced radio and electronics guy, I always thought a rooftop antenna needed to be grounded.  It does, but not for signal.  It gets grounded for lightning protection.  This was contrary to my beliefs, but even the manufacturer's documentation says that.
> 
> Doubt there is any shorting in the new antenna.
> 
> Like I said, when I have time I'll put it up the right way and double-check everything.  The cheap little $35 RCA antenna I have now gets 25 channels.


Curious,  where are you located and is that cheap RCA antenna an outdoor unit?


----------



## PeoplesElbow

FYI I i started using locast last night,  so far it has been great,  they havent bugged me for a donation yet and I can get 10 channels OTA channels through it.


----------



## imaref

Glad it's working for you. I have a feeling Locast is going to be around for a long time as AT&T just gave them a donation of $500,000 to expand their free local channel broadcasts across the country. I don't usually root for AT&T, but in this case I hope they put the screws to the local stations. Directv and Uverse started putting the locast app on their streaming services. 

I remember back when cable TV first started and the deal was that one would pay a small fee to have the channels rebroadcast through the cable wires while the commercials would pay the stations' operating fees/profits. Yeah, wonder what ever happened to that...


----------



## GWguy

PeoplesElbow said:


> Curious,  where are you located and is that cheap RCA antenna an outdoor unit?


Just got back into town.  I'll post a pic of it tomorrow.


----------



## Chris0nllyn

PeoplesElbow said:


> FYI I i started using locast last night,  so far it has been great,  they havent bugged me for a donation yet and I can get 10 channels OTA channels through it.



Same here. Since Sling doesn't offer ABC or CBS, I added the Locast channel to Roku and can watch all the local channels. 

So far so good.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

Chris0nllyn said:


> Same here. Since Sling doesn't offer ABC or CBS, I added the Locast channel to Roku and can watch all the local channels.
> 
> So far so good.


I was mostly missing CBS since the ABC app lets you watch stuff that is over a week old, but it is pretty cool to have it live too.


----------



## mitzi

Chris0nllyn said:


> Same here. Since Sling doesn't offer ABC or CBS, I added the Locast channel to Roku and can watch all the local channels.
> 
> So far so good.



Can I add Locast to FireTV? I'm basically a dummy when it comes to all of this.  I really miss the local news and some of the local morning shows.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

mitzi said:


> Can I add Locast to FireTV? I'm basically a dummy when it comes to all of this.  I really miss the local news and some of the local morning shows.


Not sure the app is in the fire TV store (yet).


----------



## Chris0nllyn

mitzi said:


> Can I add Locast to FireTV? I'm basically a dummy when it comes to all of this.  I really miss the local news and some of the local morning shows.



Sure can. Check your app store.


----------



## GWguy

PeoplesElbow said:


> Curious,  where are you located and is that cheap RCA antenna an outdoor unit?


Sorry I didn't get back sooner, got sidetracked.  I'm in Town Creek, couple of blocks behind BAE.
Here's the antenna:




__





						Robot or human?
					





					www.walmart.com
				






The power amp used:





						Indoor Outdoor High Gain Signal Amplifier HDTV VHF UHF FM Channel Boost - Walmart.com
					

Buy Indoor Outdoor High Gain Signal Amplifier HDTV VHF UHF FM Channel Boost at Walmart.com



					www.walmart.com
				




And I also have a rotor.  Like I said above somewhere, I got better reception with a piece of PVC v metal antenna mast.  I also got a much larger high gain fringe antenna which I haven't had a chance to test and install.  I expect much better reception with that.

I also said above that I was missing channels 2-13 because of the antenna range (UHF v VHF Low v VHF High).  Funny thing....  I used a different TV and re-scanned, and I got channel 8.  Tuner sensitivity can play a big part in the channels you can get.


----------



## mitzi

Chris0nllyn said:


> Sure can. Check your app store.



Thanks


----------



## mitzi

PeoplesElbow said:


> Not sure the app is in the fire TV store (yet).



I checked into this. I can order Locast from Amazon and they will send the app to the Fire TV. Debating on whether to try this, but it seems worth it if it works properly. I was reading the reviews on Amazon and many were complaining about the ads every 15 minutes asking for a donation and after the ad you lose your channel and go back to the Channel Guide.  The minimum donation is $5 per month. If this works properly and not a PITA I think it will be worth the $5.


----------



## littlelady

mitzi said:


> I checked into this. I can order Locast from Amazon and they will send the app to the Fire TV. Debating on whether to try this, but it seems worth it if it works properly. I was reading the reviews on Amazon and many were complaining about the ads every 15 minutes asking for a donation and after the ad you lose your channel and go back to the Channel Guide.  The minimum donation is $5 per month. If this works properly and not a PITA I think it will be worth the $5.



I wouldn’t trust Amazon as far as I could throw him.  Bezos was the American dream.  Started out selling books out of his garage, and then took advantage.  His employees are not happy campers.  I will have nothing to do with Amazon.  What a jerk Bezos is.  An Alexa was given to us, and we never plugged it in.  It went out with the trash.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

littlelady said:


> I wouldn’t trust Amazon as far as I could throw him.  Bezos was the American dream.  Started out selling books out of his garage, and then took advantage.  His employees are not happy campers.  I will have nothing to do with Amazon.  What a jerk Bezos is.  An Alexa was given to us, and we never plugged it in.  It went out with the trash.


Not everything is political,  he is a turd, but Amazon has has been a stand up business in the 10+ years that I have used them for things.


----------



## mitzi

littlelady said:


> I wouldn’t trust Amazon as far as I could throw him.  Bezos was the American dream.  Started out selling books out of his garage, and then took advantage.  His employees are not happy campers.  I will have nothing to do with Amazon.  What a jerk Bezos is.  An Alexa was given to us, and we never plugged it in.  It went out with the trash.



I have no complaints about Amazon. If I've had problems with something I've ordered, the customer service has been great. If something I received was faulty, they have replaced it quickly with no problems.  I've used the online chat for support when I had issues with the Fire TV.  So, I have no complaints with their service.  As far as unhappy employees the same goes for WalMart, McDonalds, etc. I would never last 2 days with any of them the way they treat the employees.


----------



## littlelady

PeoplesElbow said:


> Not everything is political,  he is a turd, but Amazon has has been a stand up business in the 10+ years that I have used them for things.



Nothing in my post was political.  I don’t like Amazon’s biz practices, so I choose not to use them.  He doesn’t treat his employees with respect.  Power, and all.  And, yes, Bezos, is a turd.


----------



## littlelady

mitzi said:


> I have no complaints about Amazon. If I've had problems with something I've ordered, the customer service has been great. If something I received was faulty, they have replaced it quickly with no problems.  I've used the online chat for support when I had issues with the Fire TV.  So, I have no complaints with their service.  As far as unhappy employees the same goes for WalMart, McDonalds, etc. I would never last 2 days with any of them the way they treat the employees.



Good.  You deserve to be happy in your choices.  I choose not to use Amazon.  I think about how to use my retirement savings, wisely.  I try to shop ‘local’ as much as I can.


----------



## mitzi

littlelady said:


> Good.  You deserve to be happy in your choices.  I choose not to use Amazon.  I think about how to use my retirement savings, wisely.  I try to shop ‘local’ as much as I can.



I try to do that too, but with certain things you just can't.


----------



## littlelady

mitzi said:


> I try to do that too, but with certain things you just can't.



Agree.  If I can’t find it local, I will use the internet, but not Amazon.


----------



## GWguy

Just an FYI, using the small RCA antenna and amp above, I'm getting 40 channels as of right now, atmospheric conditions permitting.  Here's a channel list.  For those channels with nothing in the "Approx Degrees" column, I used to get those but "lost" them along the way.  The "Approx Degrees" is just my relative direction based on an arbitrary zero and is not real degrees.


----------



## mitzi

littlelady said:


> He doesn’t treat his employees with respect.



Find me a retail company that does. Most of them treat their employees terrible.


----------



## littlelady

mitzi said:


> Find me a retail company that does. Most of them treat their employees terrible.



I have never worked retail, so did not know that. But, Bezos had humble beginnings, made a poop ton of money, and is very powerful.  One would think that he would treat his employees with respect.  Pay it forward, and all that.  JMO.


----------



## mitzi

littlelady said:


> I have never worked retail, so did not know that. But, Bezos had humble beginnings, made a poop ton of money, and is very powerful.  One would think that he would treat his employees with respect.  Pay it forward, and all that.  JMO.



WalMart and McDonald's are horrible. I haven't worked there but have had people I know tell me what they do. They don't get breaks all day but told to take their break 1/2 hour before they get off work. WalMart has/had employees do work after they clocked out for the day. On and on. I do believe WalMart got in big trouble over that, it was that common. I always worked in offices but several times I worked part time in retail. I couldn't get over they way the supervisors/managers talked to the employees, from yelling to cussing at them. disiplining them in front of customers, etc. It was that bad. Needless to say, I never lasted long at those part time jobs .


----------



## GURPS

Every JOB / company has good and bad employees / management 

  ....... and if someone is getting asked to work ' off the clock ' there are Gov Agencies to report that


----------



## mitzi

GURPS said:


> Every JOB / company has good and bad employees / management
> 
> ....... and if someone is getting asked to work ' off the clock ' there are Gov Agencies to report that



Unfortunately, most people are afraid to report it.


----------



## GURPS

mitzi said:


> Unfortunately, most people are afraid to report it.



I would think in 2019 that would no longer be an issue, I fear sadly you are probably correct.


----------



## mitzi

GURPS said:


> I would think in 2019 that would no longer be an issue, I fear sadly you are probably correct.



It's true. The last place I worked part time (just last year), the owner wasn't paying overtime. She was telling the employees they had to work over 80 hours in the pay period to get OT when they would question why they didn't get overtime pay. They believed her. She tried it on me, ONE TIME.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

littlelady said:


> I have never worked retail, so did not know that. But, Bezos had humble beginnings, made a poop ton of money, and is very powerful.  One would think that he would treat his employees with respect.  Pay it forward, and all that.  JMO.


You can't really lay all of that at his feet because he only owns 12% of the company, as CEO he most likely doesn't micromanage how they achieve their goals but only sets them.  

The low level employees that work at Trumps properties don't really get any better treatment and you can't pull yourself off his knob for more than 5 minutes at a time, that is why I said everything isn't political.


----------



## littlelady

PeoplesElbow said:


> You can't really lay all of that at his feet because he only owns 12% of the company, as CEO he most likely doesn't micromanage how they achieve their goals but only sets them.
> 
> The low level employees that work at Trumps properties don't really get any better treatment and you can't pull yourself off his knob for more than 5 minutes at a time, that is why I said everything isn't political.



I did not mention Trump in this thread, and I, certainly, don’t want his knob. I did not make this thread political.  You did. You are a hoot, but don’t make the half cut, yet. That has to be earned. Thanks for the laughs!


----------



## PeoplesElbow

I found a great resource on antennas and think I will order the EZ HD Antenna to give it a try.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

Here we go





__





						ABC, CBS, FOX, & NBC Are Suing Locast to Shut It Down – Cord Cutters News
					






					www.cordcuttersnews.com


----------



## GWguy

It was just a matter of time.  I'll bet they use the "forced donation" aspect to claim they really aren't a true non-profit.


----------



## mitzi

I guess I better enjoy it as long as I can.  I figured something like this would happen.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

Oh FWIW Denny from Dennys Antenna Service recommended the HD Stacker Antenna for the Lexington Park area.  

http://dennysantennaservice.com/hd_stacker_tv_antenna-html.html 

I really don't want to put up an antenna that large


----------



## GWguy

It appears to be smaller than the large fringe antenna I got.  Which is still in the basement waiting to be put up.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

GWguy said:


> It appears to be smaller than the large fringe antenna I got.  Which is still in the basement waiting to be put up.


Yea,  it is fairly compact, but he says it is the best antenna you can get.  

I was really wanting to use this little one http://dennysantennaservice.com/ez_hd_tv_Antenna.html 

He said it would probably get me some but they might suffer from pixilation.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

Oh this guy reviewed it and claims it does way better than a deep fringe antenna .


----------



## GWguy

PeoplesElbow said:


> Yea,  it is fairly compact, but he says it is the best antenna you can get.
> 
> I was really wanting to use this little one http://dennysantennaservice.com/ez_hd_tv_Antenna.html
> 
> He said it would probably get me some but they might suffer from pixilation.


That's very similar to the one I have on the roof right now.  Rotor required for this area.  If you get even a marginal signal, there is no pixelation.  You either get the signal, or you don't.  Just the way digital works.  The signal may break up as the signal gets worse, but it's not pixelation.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

GWguy said:


> That's very similar to the one I have on the roof right now.  Rotor required for this area.  If you get even a marginal signal, there is no pixelation.  You either get the signal, or you don't.  Just the way digital works.  The signal may break up as the signal gets worse, but it's not pixelation.


I think what he is referring to as pixilation is the signal breaking up and the picture appearing blocky,  I have seen this on an indoor antenna much closer to a broadcast station.  

He also told me to try pointing it north west (toward DC) and I should get 20ish channels.  This guy does seem to know what he is doing and offered a money back guarantee.  I just dont know if I want an antenna that large on my house.


----------



## imaref

I knew a lawsuit would be coming, but as a non-profit I think Locast has a good chance of prevailing. Guess it depends on what court/judge they draw and how much money they have to fight... could be a long, drawn out affair...


----------



## GWguy

OK, just an FYI for antenna users:  The FCC has mandated some frequency shifts.  This requires you re-scan to find the new frequency the channel is now using.  This started happening this week and affected a number of channels I can see. It's a bit frustrating.  Some channels I had have disappeared, can't find them again, and other channels have just magically appeared on my lineup, even tho I wasn't looking.  I'm thinking these channels were on the old frequency, so the channel number just got updated.  In one case, I had duplicate channel numbers next to each other, but only one worked.

This will go on for another day or two.


----------



## mitzi

A little more on the lawsuit against Locast.





__





						Fox, Sinclair, & Nexstar Take Direct Aim at The “Rogue Streaming Service” Locast – Cord Cutters News
					






					www.cordcuttersnews.com


----------



## PeoplesElbow

I cancelled the cable at my mom's house since she is in assisted living. There are all the major networks within 5 miles, however for the life of me I can't get the ones that are on VHF with an indoor antenna. I've tried 5 different antennas to no avail. Atleast Home Depot has them all on clearance real cheap.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

Update,  found out that none of the indoor antennas are made for VHF any more.  The issue there is compounded by the fact that the stations I couldn't get are on the LO VHF band.  So I've been doing a lot of research and am going to make a simple half wavelength folded dipole antenna and give it a shot next time I am there.


----------



## DoWhat

PeoplesElbow said:


> a shot next time I am there.


Good luck.

λ = v/f


----------



## tuffenuff2

Just got rid of Directv- yay. They were awful after the merge with AT&T. The only thing we were worried about was the football games. My husband likes watching on Sunday but refuses to pay for NFL channel etc. We have found that Amazon prime airs a free game on some Sundays which is great for us since we're not really fans of any specific game but do enjoy watching. Plus we're saving $150 a month.


----------



## Goldenhawk

tuffenuff2 said:


> Just got rid of Directv- yay. ... The only thing we were worried about was the football games.


I was worried about that too. Turns out that YouTube TV ($50/month) has all the football we want to watch - we would pick from whatever was on the networks plus ESPN, and YTTV has local network channels and ESPN, so BOOM. So long, DTV.


----------



## tuffenuff2

Oops- my bad. Didn't date check. We're going to get the Sept.26 Eagles _Packers, Oct.3 Rams_ Seahawks, Oct. 10 Giants Patriots.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

PeoplesElbow said:


> Update,  found out that none of the indoor antennas are made for VHF any more.  The issue there is compounded by the fact that the stations I couldn't get are on the LO VHF band.  So I've been doing a lot of research and am going to make a simple half wavelength folded dipole antenna and give it a shot next time I am there.


It worked excellent, even just sitting on the floor,  a bit to big for inside though as it has a 6ft span.  I tuned it for 79 MHz (channel 5) and it worked for all the channels on high VHF also.  Now just to make something that will hold up better and mount outside. 

i put that thing outside on the chimney and it will be perfect.

So with $10 i built an antenna with some 8 AWG copper wire, a 300 ohm to 75 ohm transformer, and a piece of 2x4 I got ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, MeTV, CWTV, Laff TV, some criminal TV Channel, and Grit.


----------



## tuffenuff2

PeoplesElbow said:


> It worked excellent, even just sitting on the floor,  a bit to big for inside though as it has a 6ft span.  I tuned it for 79 MHz (channel 5) and it worked for all the channels on high VHF also.  Now just to make something that will hold up better and mount outside.
> 
> i put that thing outside on the chimney and it will be perfect.
> 
> So with $10 i built an antenna with some 8 AWG copper wire, a 300 ohm to 75 ohm transformer, and a piece of 2x4 I got ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, MeTV, CWTV, Laff TV, some criminal TV Channel, and Grit.




Where are you located?


----------



## PeoplesElbow

This one is for the hills of West Virginia that I mentioned above. There are no UHF stations there.  8 awg copper wire btw


----------



## imaref

Locast (in the Washington DC region) has now added lots of the "sub-channels". Here is a list of what you can currently stream for free in our area:

NBC4 (WRC)
Fox 5 (WTTG)
ABC7 (WJLA)
USA9 (WUSA)
WFDC
WDCA
WETA
WZDC
WDCW
CHARGE
COMET
TBD
Justice
GetTV
GRIT
Bounce
Buzzr
MeTV
Movies
Heroes
PBS Kids
Xitos


----------



## mitzi

imaref said:


> Locast (in the Washington DC region) has now added lots of the "sub-channels". Here is a list of what you can currently stream for free in our area:
> 
> NBC4 (WRC)
> Fox 5 (WTTG)
> ABC7 (WJLA)
> USA9 (WUSA)
> WFDC
> WDCA
> WETA
> WZDC
> WDCW
> CHARGE
> COMET
> TBD
> Justice
> GetTV
> GRIT
> Bounce
> Buzzr
> MeTV
> Movies
> Heroes
> PBS Kids
> Xitos



I love Locast. I have stations now that  I missed not having cable. It's well worth the $5 a month. With my Firestick I get most of the cable channels plus some.


----------



## tuffenuff2

Thank you very much for sharing the Locast information. It works great on our Roku. It was great to get the NFL games. The only problem we had was with fox5dc. The audio and video didn't match up and it kept playing the same clip at least three times. The other channels worked well so maybe it was just a glitch today.


----------



## mitzi

tuffenuff2 said:


> Thank you very much for sharing the Locast information. It works great on our Roku. It was great to get the NFL games. The only problem we had was with fox5dc. The audio and video didn't match up and it kept playing the same clip at least three times. The other channels worked well so maybe it was just a glitch today.



There's glitches once in awhile but all and all it's a great service. If it wasn't, I would have cancelled.


----------



## tuffenuff2

mitzi said:


> There's glitches once in awhile but all and it's a great service. If it wasn't, I would have cancelled.


It was fixed when we checked again at 8p.m.


----------



## jazz lady

I have been using Locast for a little over a month and have had no problems with it so far.  Nice to be able finally cut the cord and tell ABB to pack sand with their crappy, overpriced channels.


----------



## RoseRed

jazz lady said:


> I have been using Locast for a little over a month and have had no problems with it so far.  Nice to be able finally cut the cord and tell ABB to pack sand with their crappy, overpriced channels.


I need to do this.


----------



## tuffenuff2

I love Locast!


----------



## mitzi

tuffenuff2 said:


> I love Locast!


----------



## mitzi

Another bonus is I can watch on the computer too.


----------



## 1stGenSMIB

DTV just jacked up my rates. I live in Calvert, so I am getting Comcast to come give me fast enough internet I can stream TV and toss the DTV dish off my roof (I am currently using Verizon DSL at 6mb, but it is not reliable enough and Verizon won't fix it.) Just bought two more Fire Sticks on Cyber Monday. Need to investigate this LoCast..the only thing I think I will miss is local "network" TV & football, but with carefully selected monthly subscriptions, I can probably solve this problem too.


----------



## Goldenhawk

sastanley said:


> DTV just jacked up my rates. I live in Calvert, so I am getting Comcast to come give me fast enough internet I can stream TV and toss the DTV dish off my roof...


Consider YouTubeTV. $50/month. We switched from DirecTV a couple months ago (so long, thanks for 15 years, but I don't miss you now), and literally the only thing I miss is History Channel (Forged in Fire, specifically). It's got everything else we want, including all the local channels and all the football we love. And I can watch on my laptop, desktop, Roku, AppleTV, iPad, iPhone... literally anywhere I am in the house or on the road, and my own personal playlist is available everywhere.


----------



## tuffenuff2

sastanley said:


> DTV just jacked up my rates. I live in Calvert, so I am getting Comcast to come give me fast enough internet I can stream TV and toss the DTV dish off my roof (I am currently using Verizon DSL at 6mb, but it is not reliable enough and Verizon won't fix it.) Just bought two more Fire Sticks on Cyber Monday. Need to investigate this LoCast..the only thing I think I will miss is local "network" TV & football, but with carefully selected monthly subscriptions, I can probably solve this problem too.


With Locast you get all the local channels and what's on them at the same time as on cable and directv. You would get the same NFL games that are on Fox,Cbs Nbc. It's great.


----------



## Goldenhawk

tuffenuff2 said:


> With Locast you get all the local channels and what's on them at the same time as on cable and directv. You would get the same NFL games that are on Fox,Cbs Nbc. It's great.


If you like watching commercials, it's great. I avoid live TV like the plague now.

I get lots of hours per month back in my life by skipping commercials, after recording whatever I want on YouTubeTV and watching it delayed by a little bit. I can watch an entire football game in about 90 minutes just by skipping all the commercials and halftime. I figure that's worth $50/month - heck, if I watch ONLY one football game per month, that saves me 6 hours. I figure my time is EASILY worth $50/6hrs. And we watch way more than one game per week.


----------



## 1stGenSMIB

Goldenhawk said:


> Consider YouTubeTV. $50/month. We switched from DirecTV a couple months ago (so long, thanks for 15 years, but I don't miss you now), and literally the only thing I miss is History Channel (Forged in Fire, specifically). It's got everything else we want, including all the local channels and all the football we love. And I can watch on my laptop, desktop, Roku, AppleTV, iPad, iPhone... literally anywhere I am in the house or on the road, and my own personal playlist is available everywhere.


Hmm...one of the things I like on History is American Pickers, but I usually just have it on in the background when fooling around in the shop...or Motor Trend TV..I know there are other sources for those, however, if I have to subscribe to 15 apps/channels at $10/month, I am not saving anything...the money we save each month for content we don't want still needs to outweigh the hassle of searching for our favorite content.

Thanks for the suggestions above. As soon as I have more stable internet access (tomorrow!! Verizon hasn't done me any favors providing stable DSL service since I moved either, save for one technician..he will be mentioned when I cut my service, although he didn't help with recent inquiries..) which will allow us to more heavily rely on streaming services, I think we'll be ready. We spent Thanksgiving weekend with some friends in PA that cut their cord and only do streaming TV, and we had no problem finding stuff to watch, but I did miss live football. I have a funny relationship with live sports, once it is over, I am not gonna go back and watch it after that fact, but maybe my archaic brain will adjust with time.

Guess me and the Fire Stick are gonna become good friends downloading web browsers and apps and crap.


----------



## Goldenhawk

sastanley said:


> ...we had no problem finding stuff to watch, but I did miss live football...


We _could_ watch it "live" and YouTubeTV does show all the local channels and ESPN live, but I have no interest in watching commercials. So we often wait about 45-60 minutes after the game starts, then start watching. It's as good as live, or better because we don't have to watch commercials. Also, because we usually just catch up to real time by the end of the game, nobody can spoil the ending for us.


----------



## WheezyCarl

I use a Roku Firestick and subscribe to Hulu Live. $54.99/month. I use ABB internet, the lowest/slowest option and have no issues. I receive local DC news, watch the Caps play hockey live, endless NFL games, ( phone, home TV or laptop options) use a built-in DVR (records up to 50 hours), includes an "on demand" feature, channels that I subscribed to through cable plus extra networks that weren't included in my extended basic package. No Hallmark channels though which is apparently a big deal to some people. Boomerang, Tom & Jerry, hot coffee and a warm fire on a Saturday morning - priceless.


----------



## 1stGenSMIB

Hmm..Having a little trouble enabling my location when I go to locast.org in Chrome, which I did get to run on the Fire Stick. Baby steps.

edit - Still have not got Chrome working natively on the Fire Stick, so I pulled out my old Chromecast I had packed away when we moved in 2018. I can now cast locast.org from the computer, or my phone, full screen right to the TV now...local TV issue solved. Might need a couple more Chromecasts for the other TVs.
Comcast came this week and gave me 100MB internet for about the same price as I was paying for Verizon's 5.8Mbps DSL that cut out multiple times per day. I got myself an Orbi router so I am not leasing Comcast equipment either..

There will be a couple months of overlap while we continue to hunt down the content we are looking for, but I see tossing the DirecTV dish into the street sometime early in the New Year.


----------



## imaref

For those that have YoutubeTV, today they added 3 PBS stations and the OWN network, but they don't show up automatically. You have to log in online, go to settings, and then LIveGuide. You have to put a checkmark in the box in front of each of those channels, then move them where you want in your guide. Once you do this and log out, restart Youtube tv and they will be there.


----------



## kom526

I'm seriously looking into dropping our dish now. I will probably go with the Fire Stick since I am already an Amazon Prime member ( that is woefully under used given the price) and all I really need/want is sports and my wife loves those trash TV shows like 90 Day Fiance. I saw where NBA TV is available on Fire and my youngest is a basketball junkie so there is that too. My oldest is getting ready to head off to college and he already streams a ton of stuff to his desktop.

We are at $1500/yr for our Dish and that is with no premium channels. I still need to crunch numbers a bit but I'm sure I can cut that by 50% at least.


----------



## RoseRed

kom526 said:


> I'm seriously looking into dropping our dish now. I will probably go with the Fire Stick since I am already an Amazon Prime member ( that is woefully under used given the price) and all I really need/want is sports and my wife loves those trash TV shows like *90 Day Fiance.* I saw where NBA TV is available on Fire and my youngest is a basketball junkie so there is that too. My oldest is getting ready to head off to college and he already streams a ton of stuff to his desktop.
> 
> We are at $1500/yr for our Dish and that is with no premium channels. I still need to crunch numbers a bit but I'm sure I can cut that by 50% at least.


She's my Soul Sister!  That is my current mindless go-to TV when I'm not paying too much attention.  Yet, it completely sucks me in!


----------



## jazz lady

RoseRed said:


> She's my Soul Sister!  That is my current mindless go-to TV when I'm not paying too much attention.  Yet, it completely sucks me in!


One of my friends from high school had her daughter and fiance on it a couple of years ago - Elizabeth and Andrei.  I have never watched it but feel almost like I did as much as she posted about it on FB.


----------



## RoseRed

jazz lady said:


> One of my friends from high school had her daughter and fiance on it a couple of years ago - Elizabeth and Andrei.  I have never watched it but feel almost like I did as much as she posted about it on FB.


Really!?!  Maybe it'll show up as a rerun!


----------



## jazz lady

RoseRed said:


> Really!?!  Maybe it'll show up as a rerun!


I am sure it will. Just looked and it was 2018. The couple now have their first baby and did a spot on a follow up show called 90 Day Fiance After Hours or something like that.


----------



## RoseRed

jazz lady said:


> I am sure it will. Just looked and it was 2018. The couple now have their first baby and did a spot on a follow up show called 90 Day Fiance After Hours or something like that.


A quick Google search finds all sorts of stuff!  I'll have to sit down and take a look.


----------



## PeoplesElbow

ATSC 3.0 will be huge for us in southern Maryland, it will allow flawless viewing on a much more marginal signal.

If nothing else changes then anyone with an antenna should be able to pick up marginal channels all the time and we may even gain a few channels that we couldnt watch before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC_3.0


----------



## Goldenhawk

I'll be curious to see if ATSC 3 actually helps with signal distance. There's a fundamental curvature-of-the-earth limitation at play when you get as far from an antenna as we are in SoMD. In looking up a few articles, I didn't find much consistent info, aside from a lot of statements like "may help with fringe area reception." In short, I'm not holding my breath.

Besides, I have little intention of going back to an over-the-air signal that includes commercials I cannot skip...


----------



## PeoplesElbow

Goldenhawk said:


> I'll be curious to see if ATSC 3 actually helps with signal distance. There's a fundamental curvature-of-the-earth limitation at play when you get as far from an antenna as we are in SoMD. In looking up a few articles, I didn't find much consistent info, aside from a lot of statements like "may help with fringe area reception." In short, I'm not holding my breath.
> 
> Besides, I have little intention of going back to an over-the-air signal that includes commercials I cannot skip...


Not so much with distance but with maintaining "a lock". 

We are well within the curvature of the earth distance to receive signals from the DC channels.


----------



## 1stGenSMIB

I am getting closer and closer...
All that locast stuff is easy now. I do not know how long it has been available, but the locast app is available right on the FireStick now, which eliminates all of the geo location problems, and installing non-approved apps, and Chrome and other BS that was making streaming local TV difficult.
You still need to set up an account at locast.org, but then you just load up the app on the FS, and it authenticates with a code just like D+ and other popular apps. Locast is kinda like wikipedia...you send 'em a few $$ a month ($6) and they don't hassle you for money..but you still get the broadcast ads. They are just re-broadcasting local channels like DTV or cable.
Still working on recording streamed content to my media server so it is easy for my wife to find it, but with the D+/Hulu/ESPN bundle, free Apple TV (for a year), Netflix & Amazon Prime, I have just about found everything I need. I even think I can get CBS All Access thru Apple TV, so I don't think I need to subscribe to CBS just for the new Star Trek: Picard.


----------



## imaref

Good for you. I'm saving $70 a month (before the latest price increase) switching from Directv to YoutubeTV. I was a little worried because I have chronic DVR-itis and record everything, but YoutubeTV has UNLIMITED DVR so I record everything (including sports), then watch a little later so I can skip through all of the commercials. Recordings last for 9 months. I did lose A&E, History Channel and Paramount, but I'm learning I can pretty easily live without them. Not worth spending another $20 a month for Philo just to get those missing channels. I have the Locast app on my Roku but rarely use is because YoutubeTV has the local channels included.

My only concern is that with the number of folks dropping cable tv and satellite tv that the cable companies will take advantage by raising internet prices...


----------



## Goldenhawk

imaref said:


> Good for you. I'm saving $70 a month (before the latest price increase) switching from Directv to YoutubeTV.


Ditto. Not as cheap as LoCast, but it does have the DVR with zero fuss, which is important for the non-techies in the family. And the single biggest test passed with flying colors - we watched the Super Bowl with no hitches.

DirecTV sent me a "please come back" email today. Hah. No chance of that. I clicked the "Unsubscribe me from all DirecTV email" link.


----------



## imaref

Same here--Super Bowl was flawless. I also like the fact that you can set the resolution easily to save on bandwidth. I keep it set on 480p for most regular shows (looks just fine), then bump it up to 720p or 1080 for movies and sports.

...and it will be a cold day in "heck" before I allow the tentacles of AT&T back into my home. They RUINED Directv.


----------



## General Lee

imaref said:


> I have chronic DVR-itis and record everything, but YoutubeTV has UNLIMITED DVR so I record everything (including sports), then watch a little later so I can skip through all of the commercials. Recordings last for 9 months.



Please excuse my ignorant question.....I am in the beginning stages of looking to rid Direct TV. I too like the option of DVRing. When you record something from YouTubeTV, where is it saved? To your account I assume?


----------



## Goldenhawk

General Lee said:


> Please excuse my ignorant question.....I am in the beginning stages of looking to rid Direct TV. I too like the option of DVRing. When you record something from YouTubeTV, where is it saved? To your account I assume?


Well, the "DVR" features are all located on the YouTubeTV ("YTTV") servers, unlike your DirecTV ("DTV") receiver where it's being stored on a physical spinning hard disk inside your receiver in your house.

Consider the fact that YTTV is streaming everything exactly when you ask for it, unlike DTV who pushes everything to the satellite once, in real time. DirecTV cannot afford to push stuff to you twice - which means the DVR storage must be on your receiver. If you want a DTV recording, you have to save what they stream when they stream it.

But YTTV streams everything only when you ask for it. And it's already all on their servers ready for access. So their system is implicitly 100% "on demand." Therefore it costs nothing for them to keep a list of stuff you want to watch later, plus a pointer to how many minutes into the show you were last watching it. The only thing they have to do is store those recordings of everything they broadcast for however many months (9, I guess) so anyone can request it again later. And of course they also created an easy interface to your "library," which is nothing more than a list of pointers to the info. 

So while a DTV "List" and the YTTV "Library" look roughly the same when you're browsing your DVR contents, they really do work very differently.

Note also that you can watch the contents of your YTTV library literally ANYWHERE - your iPad or phone or laptop or desktop or Roku or FireStick or AppleTV... because they all just show streamed content, and YTTV is happy to push it to whatever device(s) are logged into your account. Super convenient. I can start watching a show on my TV, then finish it on my phone or tablet in another room... it really means that the "television" is just another screen that does the same thing as any of your other devices. You're totally liberated from that one TV in the family room.

Note that DirecTV Now (or AT&T TV Now or whatever they're calling it this month) is very similar to YTTV. Just more expensive and still tied to the AT&T monster.

It does make me wonder why they don't offer the ability to request ANY show from the last 9 months, even if you didn't flag it to record. What if I want to go back and watch some local channel from a few days ago, but I didn't DVR it at the time? Shouldn't matter to YTTV; it's already on their server. I guess they just don't want to complicate the interface and confuse people.


----------



## Goldenhawk

General Lee said:


> Please excuse my ignorant question.....I am in the beginning stages of looking to rid Direct TV. I too like the option of DVRing. When you record something from YouTubeTV, where is it saved? To your account I assume?


PS: My only real gripe with YTTV is that the Library is not as well organized as DTV's List used to be. It's hard to figure out which shows have been recently recorded and which ones have already been watched, which makes it a bit harder to keep track of several shows per week.

Look, it's worth your time to sign up for YTTV for the two week trial. You'll quickly find out if it works for you. 

I'm a big fan of the Roku for the YTTV app; the Roku remote is much more user-friendly than the AppleTV remote. Both Apple and Roku have the same on-screen appearance, but the Roku has a much better physical button setup on the remote, than the Apple touchscreen setup. Also, the Roku Ultimate has TV volume buttons on the remote, too, which is a bonus. The only thing it's missing is a mute button, which is a really strange design choice. But none of that matters to testing the YTTV service for a couple weeks - if you like the features, you have a lot of options to explore for hardware (smart TVs, Roku, Apple, Firestick, etc.).


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## tuffenuff2

Locast for Washington DC isn't loading. Under cities DC isn't listed anymore. Anybody else experiencing this?


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## mitzi

I just checked. Mine too.  What happened I wonder, seems like subscribers would have veen notified.


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## mitzi

tuffenuff2 said:


> Locast for Washington DC isn't loading. Under cities DC isn't listed anymore. Anybody else experiencing this?



They responded quickly.

"Thank you for your question. This is a known issue that we are working to resolve.  Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Your patience is appreciated as we work to get our servers back up and running as quickly as possible.
Best Regards,
Connor
Locast Support"


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## PeaceBay

imaref said:


> I looked heavily into getting an antenna to receive the DC local TV stations over the air but because of our location I wouldn't pick up many stations in Lexington Park. I gave up.
> 
> Reading tech news yesterday I read about a non-profit service called Locast.org (currently available on Roku) that re-broadcasts live local TV station signals for those that are too far away from broadcast stations to be picked up via an antenna (like the majority of us in St. Mary's).
> 
> Locast is Locast.org, not Locast.com, and its status as a non-profit means it is legally allowed to rebroadcast for free, as it provides a public service of extending signal reach (legal according to U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, according to the article).
> 
> I signed up for an account on their site (even though it's not available for DC stations--yet). They seems to be working their way down the East Coast from Boston, and Baltimore will be the next that they add. I would anticipate the DC stations to be added next after Baltimore.
> 
> If this holds up legally, you would basically be able to use your Roku and (when the DC stations are added) use the Locast.org app on Roku to stream the local stations at no charge. It would be nice to cut out the middleman, the rebroadcast fees, etc.
> 
> Definitely something for cordcutters to keep an eye on... if you want to read more about it, their website is https://www.locast.org/



Locast is not worth it. Works for a few days and then stops programs every 5 minutes to ask for donations. It's a scam.


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## tuffenuff2

It is back on. I have only had a few problems- mostly the video and audio not syncing. I love it and definitely think it's worth the money.


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## PeoplesElbow

PeaceBay said:


> Locast is not worth it. Works for a few days and then stops programs every 5 minutes to ask for donations. It's a scam.


Initially I was annoyed over the 50 cent charge for a $5 donation, I relented and donated the 5.50, it is a great service if you donate.


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## PeoplesElbow

It works today.


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## PeoplesElbow

Looks like ATSC 3.0 is for real. The reception inside the Ft Pitt tunnel is impressive.


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## Sneakers

WBOC over on the Eastern Shore is advertising for ATSC 3.0 engineers.


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